Clear Skies in Casper for the Last Full Moon of 2022, Passing in front of Mars

Known as the December moon or the Cold Moon, the last full moon of 2022 occurs on Dec. 7 at 9:08 MT, but appears full the night before and after its peak to the average stargazer.

NASA notes that it is also a lunar occultation, when the moon passes in front of Mars.

The event will be visible from Wyoming. You don’t need a telescope to see it (although that helps).

As you look up at the night sky this month,  thanks to extra-bright Jupiter, Pegasus will be a prominent constellation.

To find the mythologically named group of stars, face southward and look for the "Great Square" beginning about 15 degrees to the north of it.

Pegasus is a useful constellation for stargazers as it's a good starting place for finding your way to other features in the night sky, said NASA. The constellation itself contains a number of dazzling deep-sky objects, including globular cluster M15, and the tangled galaxies of Stephan's Quintet.

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